Void Domain, Book 01
Chapter 001
A friendly chime rang throughout the office as the door closed.
“Just a moment,” called a voice from the back room. After a brief scuffle of footsteps, the owner of the voice appeared next to the front counter. “Ah, Eva. Good to see you again,” the woman said, “and who have you got there? Another stray?”
Eva shrugged her shoulders, hefting the sleeping kitten in her arms upwards. “Not a stray this time. His collar says ‘Mr. Mist’ but there is no owner information.”
“I can’t say I’ve seen him before, but I’ll check and see if he’s registered in the system.”
Before the nurse could go to the computer, Eva said, “Mrs. Vallenger, that isn’t all.” Eva knelt and allowed the kitten to fall forwards, supported by her arms and knees. The kitten’s hind leg had a deep gash down one side. Blood matted its fur down as well as covered the entire front of Eva’s white tee-shirt. “He was mewing beneath some wire around the library’s parking construction.”
“Oh,” she made some quick clicks with her tongue. “I’ll see if I can get Doctor Thompson to take a look at him.” She carefully took the kitten out of Eva’s arms and marched him straight into the back room.
Left on her own in the empty lobby, Eva walked straight to the bathroom. The young girl sighed in front of the mirror. Another shirt ruined. At least this one was ruined for a good reason. She gave a small snort and started washing off her arms.
With her arms cleaned off, Eva looked down at her clothes; she was stumped as to how to clean them. Apart from getting her shirt completely soaked, not something Eva was willing to do even if the summer heat was settling in, nothing sprung to mind.
Eva sighed once more and left the bathroom. She walked straight through the door marked ‘Employees Only’ without any hesitation. She might not be a member of the staff, but she had been through many times before while volunteering to care for the boarding animals.
The door marked ‘Surgery’ did give her pause. The light was already on, either Doctor Thompson had another patient or he was already working on Mr. Mist. Voices coming from the other side of the door soon answered the question.
“.. of a deep flesh wound, but nothing important. Get me a bag of fluids while I stitch his leg up.”
“Yes doctor.”
Eva backed up half a step and tried her best to look like she hadn’t just been listening in. She raised her hand as if to knock just as Nurse Vallenger opened the door. The nurse looked surprised for half a moment before a light smile spread across her petite face.
“I’ll be back with you in a moment, Eva,” she said as she walked down the hall towards the storage room.
Eva gave the woman a light nod and looked back to the room the nurse had left wide open.
The elderly Doctor Thompson hunched over a table with the black and white cat. He looked to be just about to start the stitches when he apparently noticed the door was open as well, for he gave a light sigh. “You can come in, Eva, if you promise not to touch anything.”
With a nod, Eva walked in and stood opposite the doctor at the table, intent on seeing the remainder of the process. She did her best to hide her excitement, but some must have shown through as Doctor Thompson gave a light chuckle. She couldn’t help it, it was the first time they’d let her in during a surgery, after all.
The doctor set to work on the cat without another word. They stood in silence until the stitches were about half way through the leg.
“Not very squeamish, are you. I’ve seen people who’ve gone through the entirety of med school get queasy at the sight of open wounds. And you’re what, ten?”
“Thirteen sir, and I’ve seen plenty worse than Mr. Mist’s cut.”
Doctor Thompson looked up from the cat. “Worse?”
Eva blinked and a small frown appeared on her face as she quickly back pedaled, “I mean, like, the poor animals that get hit by cars.”
He gave a noncommittal grunt and went back to work on the kitten.
Nurse Vallenger returned a moment later. Eva moved aside, a bit disappointed by just how much her short time in the surgery room did not live up to her expectations. Maybe now that they let me in once, I’ll be invited to observe a bigger surgery.
The nurse hung a small yellow-orange bag from a hook and slipped a needle into the cat’s front left paw. After taping down the tube, she pulled a small camera out of her pocket and tried to line up a shot. “Hmm, should have taken the picture before inserting the IV.”
“I’ve got it,” Eva said. She waited until the nurse gave her a nod and then removed the bag from the hook and held it, along with the tube, off to the side.
“Thank you my dear.” She snapped the picture. “Now, lets leave the doctor to his work and go make a few fliers. I checked just a moment ago and we don’t have a Mist in our system.” Mrs. Vallenger started walking out of the surgery room.
Eva glanced at the kitten, but followed behind the nurse. There wouldn’t be anything more interesting there anyway.
“I’m sure someone out there is very worried about such an adorable cat,” Nurse Vallenger said, “I’ll make a few calls to some of the other vets in the area, see if any of them have heard of a Mr. Mist.
“If no one responds back in the positive, we’ll hang some fliers around town and maybe you can take a few to hang up in your school. That will be your job.” Nurse Vallenger rummaged through the front desk before turning back to Eva. “We’ll scan it in and put the picture on it, so leave a space.”
Eva nodded and accepted the large marker and sheet of computer paper.
Half an hour later, Nurse Vallenger finished contacting the other veterinarian offices and spoke to Eva, “No one has seen Mr. Mist. Not all that surprising in a cat so young. How is your poster coming?”
Eva held up her masterwork. “Just finished.”
Mrs. Vallenger nodded. “Good. We’ll scan it in, put the picture on, and print out a handful of copies to spread around town.” She took the paper, but hesitated, looking around the sheet. The hesitation passed and she slapped the paper down on the scanner.
A few clicks on the computer and the machine whirred to life. Eva moved around to get a better view while the nurse worked. Once she cropped the image of Mr. Mist onto the paper, the machine came to life once more and spat out copy after copy of the fliers.
Nurse Vallenger took a copy and checked for any errors. She hesitated again, her eyes flicking down to Eva, before biting her lip. Flipping the paper towards Eva, she said, “those circles around the edges… you’re not learning magic, are you?”
“I just thought they’d help catch the eye,” Eva said with a shrug, “no magic or anything.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Vallenger said, failing to hide the disappointment on her face. “I figured so, but couldn’t be sure.”
Eva gave another apologetic shrug. “I don’t suppose you have anything I could wear home? Walking around with a blood soaked shirt is going to draw all the wrong kind of attention, even if it is mostly dry by now.”
“Oh!” The nurse slapped her forehead. “You should have said something sooner. That can’t be sanitary.” She left the computer and headed to the employees only area.
Eva sat back in the computer chair and looked over her poster. The circles were definitely not magic, though the skills she gained by marking out rituals and runes over and over again definitely found their way into the eye-catching design. Hopefully not many people come to the same conclusion. That’s just attention I don’t want.
The employee door opened and out walked Nurse Vallenger, shutting the door behind her. Draped over one arm was…
“A lab coat?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone here wear a lab coat.”